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MindSeed Creative has been providing our marketing services for over 13 years. Richard and his associates have delivered outstanding work, helping to bring us into the forefront of the wholesale diamond business.

If your company website was built more than a couple of years ago, chances are it’s not a responsive design. Unfortunately, if you do not have a mobile friendly or responsive website, you are missing key opportunities to connect with potential customers, clients, or patient. A responsive web design (RWD) is one that adjusts to the screen size that one is using to view; so your site can go from desktop to laptop to tablet to smartphone.

Google search engines love RWD (responsive web design). A RWD vs a separate mobile website has one url and one set of pages and files which makes it infinitely easier for the robots to crawl.

Furthermore, if you have a responsive website, you can build social shares for just one URL, and when the site does get shared, wherever the link is viewed – whether on a mobile, tablet, or on desktop – all of the content will be clear and easy to navigate. (SearchEngineJournal.com)

MindSeedCreative is now building responsive websites (almost exclusively). It eliminates the need for a separate mobile build resulting in significant cost savings. We build WordPress sites that are beautiful, search friendly (SEO), easy to navigate and adaptable to change. WordPress sites are CMS (content management systems) making it easy to edit copy and images and make regular content updates.

Feel free to contact us for a complimentary consultation. Contact Roz to set up a conversation.

Everyone you know has a Facebook page. Some have personal and business pages. Whether you are a Facebook believer, addict or self-proclaimed Facebook avoider, there is no question that social media is here to stay.

Sharing on Facebook can be a positive way to connect with others…oversharing is almost always a recipe for disaster. So, regardless of how you might use Facebook for personal entertainment, there are some general guidelines for getting the most out of a business page.

Here are a few DOs and DON’Ts:

Do set up a professional looking page that reflects your business, company, or organization. This means use a logo that is properly sized, create a cover image that represents your company and fill out the About Us section as thoroughly as possible. Be sure to include your company address, contact info, phone, email, etc.

Do create a strategy for your social media efforts. Decide what you want the page to do for your business. You might want to create weekly themes and regular postings so readers can look forward to your daily feed.

Do post content that is relevant to the audience you want. If you want engagement (which you do), you need to provide information that people will find useful and interesting.

Don’t focus on how many LIKES you have. It’s about connecting with people that you can convert to customers rather than having a million “likes.”

Don’t “sell” constantly. Actually, if you have an engaged audience, you shouldn’t have to “sell” at all. People want to do business with those whom they feel a connection. This is about building relationships.

Don’t worry if all your posts don’t get a lot of likes, views or comments. Facebook has a great insights section. Review the insights on a weekly and monthly basis. You can adjust content based on history. If videos get lots of engagement then use more of that type of content (for example).

Remember, success using social media and especially Facebook is a series of trial and error. Repeat what works, eliminate what doesn’t. Have fun. Be positive. Share your knowledge. Make new friends.

As I take my energetic, fun-loving puppy to the neighborhood park (40 acres of green space) each day, I am struck by the effort of one neighbor as he tends his garden. Skin tanned and leathered from daily exposure to the unprotected rays, this devoted lover of the earth lovingly scouts for invasive insects and signs of destruction that might, if left untended, completely destroy his bounty.

Sure, there are other vegetable gardens scattered throughout the sun-soaking yards in our suburban sprawl. However, none seem to yield the lush fruits of ones’ labors the way this particular garden does. The pole beans must be seven feet tall. The tomato plants, varying by type, are lush, full, and bursting with fruit. The dense heads of lettuce are so inviting. Certainly, this is why Peter risked it all to sample Mr. MacGregor’s wares.

Happy families, growing, successful businesses, individuals with shoulders back and head held high — these are all by-products of a garden that has been well-tended. Parents-to-be read everything they can get their hands on about pregnancy, the care and handling of the precious life they are about to nurture and nourish and seek out knowledge as if building an empire.

Business owners, the kind that can define success for themselves based on values, those who seek to grow and prosper and engage and give back to their community – these people are the ones that spend a significant amount of time “tending their garden.” They know it’s not just about throwing a few seeds into the wind; it’s about careful planning, tilling the soil, preparing the foundation, hand selecting the right location, identifying the appropriate resources, declaring a desired outcome and staying true to the core of what the business is all about. Of course, sometimes, there are situations out of our control; natural disasters, the behavior of others, economic extremes. Keep in mind, with the right preparation and business planning, a flourishing garden won’t be completely destroyed in the wake of disaster. Proper tending will yield results.

Left untended, my neighbor’s garden would be a royal feast for the various bugs and wildlife that make their home amidst our pleasures. Because he plans and cares and knows what he wants, his efforts are rewarded. I find myself just a bit envious. I want to know him better – then, surely he would share with me.

Is there ever a time when it’s ok to “air your dirty laundry?” If we are talking about spousal infidelities, partnership betrayals, or perennially messy linen closets, perhaps not. However, parents whose kids go off to sleep away camp know that there are few options, upon the offspring’s’ return, to deal with the dirty laundry that comes home…and pretty much every option includes a public display.

Actually, the unloading of the duffels became somewhat of a tradition in our house. Weather permitting (please G-d), everything gets dumped onto the driveway…backpack, duffel bags, portable drawers, and camper. That’s right; no one and nothing is allowed in the house until bags are emptied, sorted and examined. We make piles: what was once “whites”, darks, too stinky to wash, unused toiletries (yes, unused) and all other unidentifiable stuff that has returned with our precious child.

The neighbors that try not to look your way as you sort through the piles are those whom have not had the pleasure of sending children to camp. They mutter “hoarder” under their breath and quickly hurry along. Those that know what you are doing are too busy doing the same thing to snicker, mutter, name-call or care.

This ritual is the only time that personal “dirty” laundry should be left out on the line for all to view. Unfortunately, the connected, share every iota of minutia with the public world in which we live has somehow given people permission to puke all their personal garbage (a.k.a. dirty laundry), in public.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being able to see what friends across the country are doing. It’s often exciting to watch young children grow up through the eyes of their proud parents. My social network benefits from my favorite recipes, photos of my incredibly cute puppy and phenomenal children. I really do try to keep it all positive, apolitical, and generally family-friendly. Maybe once in a while, you’ll find an “f” bomb thrown in to make a point…it’s just a word, right?

What I object to is the public smearing of a soon-to-be ex-spouse, the negative tirade about a restaurant server who might’ve just been having a bad day, or the overzealous whining about a too-tired parent who brought their cranky baby to a restaurant. I also don’t need to know that you were up all night with stomach issues that would be best discussed on a panel of The Doctors.

Imagine how great it would be for our socially connected communities to greet each other with positive feedback, a daily chuckle or a greeting that holds any expectations for how many “likes” it’ll get. For me, the only dirty laundry I want to share is the mess that comes home every summer, waiting to be sorted, tossed and disinfected.

No clocks, watches, iPhones, iPods, mp3 players, handheld personal electronic devices or other similar items for 26 days. Could you do it? (long pause) Maybe I could do it. A daunting challenge, for sure, and I know I couldn’t take this on if I were at my desk, working, adhering to deadlines and attending requisite meetings. Could I do this if I were on vacation – away from the daily rituals, commitments and obligations? Perhaps.

We just watched our daughter and 35 other young teens pull away on the camp bus. This is not a cushy charter bus with restroom facilities, A/C and DVD players. The familiar green bus has been transporting campers to their ultimate summer destinations for decades. From the moment they claim their spot and settle in with their seat-mate these tech-savvy teens are funneled into another world; a world where electronic devices are shunned; music is made with their voices, their hands and hearts beating out the rhythm of the collective wanton, adventurous spirit. They’ll lay awake for a few blissful seconds each night while being lulled by the rustling branches, snapping twigs, hissing cicadas and crackling embers. The bonds they’ll form will defy their love for any device.

The opportunity to unplug, even for an hour, reminds us that there is a world around us begging to be embraced. Could you do it? Yes. I actually like not being able to check my mail. I don’t need to know the latest social media exclamations. In fact, I am much happier without all of it.

In 26 days, 36 young adults will return; the longings they’ll experience will be for their new friends, the beauty of the sunrise, the quiet of untapped forest. The technology they’ll come home to will just be tools to reconnect with the memories – reminders of what life is truly about.

After years of marketing canned soup, frozen peas, Italian recipe cheese, ten-speed bikes and headache powder, I made a conscious decision to find a new way to connect with consumers and shoppers of goods. While “soup is good food,” as a marketer, I wanted to know what “good” these companies were doing to make the world a better place.

Now, I don’t expect every business to work towards world peace, but I would like to know that the companies I work with, the retailers I patronize, and the organizations I support, are philosophically aligned with the notion that it is important to make its community better. Think about when you were a kid and your mom and dad told you to “leave the park cleaner than when you arrived.”

We have become a nation that is too busy to smell the roses, pick up a piece of trash that didn’t make the bin, or stop to help a stranger. Selfishly, when I connect with individuals, companies, and organizations that make it a priority to do for others, I feel SO MUCH BETTER. This connection, if you will, gives me purpose.

While having dinner with a group of folks the other night, I was saddened to hear that the playground where my friend teaches doesn’t see much recess action during the winter months. “Really?” I asked. That seemed so foreign to me. Well, many of the children don’t have the proper outerwear to play outside in the cold. “Really?” Playing outside in the winter is part of being a kid here in the Detroit area. Building snowmen, making snow angels, sledding and pelting snowballs at friends is what the season is all about. I shared this story with my younger daughter and we decided to go to the Salvation Army and pick up some jackets, snow pants and gloves so some of these kids can enjoy our “winter wonderland.”

Sorry if I got a little preachy here. It is important to me as a mother, an adult, a business owner that we all try a little harder to do for others. Little, bite -sized efforts ultimately make a difference.